A Curious Sea Turtle Won't Stop Bothering This Scuba Diver

Sea turtles do the cutest things. In this video posted
toReddit,
a friendly sea turtle pays a surprise visit to a diver. At
first, the diver pushes the curious animal away with a big shove
to its belly. But the turtle persists. The diver quickly comes
around and starts to pet its head. Enya's "Boadicea" provides
some nice background music during the entire encounter.

Researcher Lisa
Belskis, a marine biologist for NOAA's Southeast Fisheries
Science Center, tells us that the the turtle in this video is an
adult or maturing male hawksbill turtle.

The behavior is not unheard of, although it is less
typical.

"There have been many anecdotal reports of male
hardshell sea turtles approaching divers
attempting to mount them, particularly
during breeding season," Belskis wrote us in an
email. "From my personal experience I have found that
most often turtles go about their everyday
business and ignore divers. If divers notice a
nearby turtle it will likely stay still as if
hoping its camouflage is working and if pursued
by a diver they tend to flee."